Three Ohio Men Face Federal Firearms Charges

Two Youngstown men and a third from Lisbon, Ohio, faced federal firearms charges for unrelated cases, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Joshua Heasley, 24, of Youngstown, was indicted on one cout of making false and fictitious written statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer in order to purchase a firearm.

The indictment charges that on or about June 27, 2013, Heasley made a false and fictitious written statement to Sandel’s Loan, Inc., Youngstown, Ohio, in that he represented he was the actual purchaser of a Mossberg, model 500, 12 gauge shotgun, that he was purchasing for another individual.

Bernard A. Ritteger, 33, of Lisbon, Ohio, was indicted on one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device. The indictment charges that on or about October 19, 2013, Ritteger possessed an S/S Inc., 12 gauge, street sweeper style shotgun, not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

Crispulo Rodriguez, aka Franco Crispulo, age 41, of Youngstown, was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The indictment charges that on or about December 12, 2013, Rodriguez possessed a Taurus, model PT 24/7 PRO DS, .45 caliber pistol and ammunition, despite previous convictions for armed robbery, assault with a dangerou weapon and assault and battery of a guard or corrections officer, all in the Hampden Superior Court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and manslaughter, in the Norfolk Superior Court in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

The investigations preceding these indictments were conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Youngstown Police Department and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority in the Rodriguez indictment. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David M. Toepfer.

An indictment in only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.